Category: Uncategorized

Exciting rookie Wilco Nienaber says having enjoyed success as an amateur in the windy Cape, he is more than ready to get going at this year’s RAM Cape Town Open co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour.

The tournament gets underway on Thursday and Nienaber returns to the Cape after some solid first few events as a pro. He was set for a top 10 finish at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship in Eikenhof three weeks ago but forgot to sign his scorecard, an error which got him disqualified. Then, two weeks later, he finished second in the Limpopo Championship, the first of three events the Sunshine Tour is co-sanctioning with the Challenge Tour this year.

“I’d like to take that momentum into this week,” says Nienaber from Royal Cape Golf Club, one of the two venues that are set to host this mega showdown, the other venue being King David Mowbray Golf Club. “I played good golf at Eye of Africa, played good golf last week. So, I am looking forward to this week because I’ve had quite a bit of success down here in my amateur events.”

While he has not won an event as a professional just yet, his length off the tee has had pundits and fans talking and to some extent, has left some even worried that he might be a little bit too aggressive on the ball. A tag which does little to bother him.

“Because I hit the driver pretty long, I guess some people will see me as an aggressive player,” he notes, “I think I am an aggressive player because I know that is my strongest point. But, it doesn’t bother me because coming to the Cape is the same game for me, you still  have to hit the fairways, still have to hit the greens even in the wind, it is just a little bit trickier to do it.”

Like many golfers who have come down to Cape Town this week, Nienaber says he enjoys playing in this region despite the frequent and gusting winds which the area is associated with.

“I don’t know,” he says when asked about what it is that players enjoy the most about coming down to the Mother City, “You see the Table Mountain while playing, it’s relaxed, the people in Cape Town tend to come out and watch us play, so there’s no one specific thing you can say you enjoy. It’s just a great experience to come down here.

“This week is a bit different to last week because last week it was bushveld and it was pretty wide,” he says when explaining what it takes to play well here. “Here, it’s tree-lined and you’ve got to hit good shots to have an opening for your second shot and to be able to hit the greens on the right spots, you have to hit the fairways, that’s just it.”

Defending champion of the RAM Cape Town Open, Benjamin Follett-Smith of Zimbabwe says while he aims to defend his title this week in Cape Town, he has few expectations this year following a rather difficult spell on Tour since his win here.

He has made the cut five times in 19 starts this season and admits he’s struggled while also pointing out what the courses for such struggles may have been.

“Very few expectations this week,” he says ahead of this year’s edition which is co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour. “I’ve learnt my lesson last year. I struggled this year because my expectations got too high. Now, I’m just trying to maintain composure; hit fairways, hit greens and just make sure I do the basics right. If you get the basics right, you should be able to give yourself chances.”

He admits, however, that all is not lost for him because regardless of the undesirable results he’s gotten this season so far, he is still learning about the game and about himself as well.

“It’s a learning curve,” he notes, “because this year, I’ve missed more cuts that I have done in my whole career. It’s just learning how to get back up bigger and stronger. I’ve taken five steps back but I’m trying to take them forward now.”

A fierce competitor of his calibre is not to be distracted by a series of unwanted results, however, and in all his struggles, Follett-Smith has had some positives to draw on and the eighth-place finish he and his compatriot Stephen Ferreira got in the team championship a fortnight ago, is one such positive.

“At team champs, I hit the ball really well,” he says, “and it was easier because I had Stephen backing me up. But I did hit it well and that showed me that when I am confident, I can pull through. Obviously, with a few mishaps and not playing well, the confidence will go down but coming to a place where I have succeeded, seeing the positives, seeing what I did and what I can do, is helping the confidence. So, I feel good and I feel like I can compete again.”

No matter his current form and the struggles with which he has had to deal with on the golf course, Follett-Smith is ready for everything this great championship has to throw at him.

“I hope the wind picks up,” he says with a smile, “I really like it here when it gets windy. It just makes things a little bit more interesting.”

The Sunshine Tour is in the Mother City this week for the eighth edition of the RAM Cape Town Open. This year’s event is for the first time co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour, making it bigger and better while marking the first co-sanctioned event to hit the Cape.

The format:

The competition will be decided over 72 holes of stroke-play. The first two rounds will be played at both courses of Royal Cape and King David Mowbray Golf Clubs, with each competitor playing a round at each course. After 36 holes there will be a cut to the leading 60 professionals and those who tie on the score.

The final two rounds will be played at Royal Cape Golf Club. In the event that the cut qualifies more than 78 players, there will be an additional cut after 54 holes to the leading 72 professionals and those who tie on the score. The final decision regarding the number of players for a 3rd round cut will be made by the Tournament Directors.

The field:

204 professionals

Defending champion:

Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Follett-Smith is the defending champion, having earned his maiden Sunshine Tour title via a two-stroke victory over Cape Town’s Jean-Paul Strydom and Zander Lombard on a 13-under-par 275 total.

The course:

Royal Cape Golf Club:

The Royal Cape Golf Club was established in 1885 which makes it South Africa’s oldest golf club. It is in the shadow of Table Mountain and is subject to three of nature’s beguiling offerings: a near-constant wind to challenge, sweeping mountain views to charm and water features to ensnare.  The par-72 course which is 6,121 metres in length was designed by Charles Murray and its fairway grass is Kikuyu, while the greens are made of Bent grass. There are plenty of challenging bunkers.

It is a course has hosted the SA Open 10 times, as well as many other professional and top amateur events. Winners at Royal Cape include Gary Player, Ernie Els, Mark McNulty and Trevor Immelman.

Tree-lined with narrow fairways and subtle greens, Royal presents a traditional test of golf, although the numerous ponds and lakes teeming with birdlife provide beauty and distraction along the way.

King David Mowbray Golf Club:

Set in a very central area – about 15 minutes from the V&A Waterfront and Cape Town International Airport – King David Mowbray is a parkland course, which provides an excellent test of golf. The terrain is flat, but plenty of trees and water features make for an interesting experience, with the beauty of the mountain and abundant wildlife dominating the scenery.

A significant feature of any coastal course is, of course, the wind. This is where King David Mowbray is unique, in that the holes have been so laid out that you will seldom find yourself with the wind directly in your face or right at your back. Also, believe it or not, the wind in Pinelands is seldom as severe as in other parts of the peninsula.

Both fairways and greens remain soft throughout the year. The fairways consist predominantly of Kikuyu grass while the greens are paspalum which provides an excellent putting surface. Experiments with pure bentgrass have not been successful, so the indigenous grass family variety is now being “managed”, with more than satisfactory results.

While the course is not particularly long, the golfer will find King David Mowbray a real challenge. It is generally accepted that the SA Golf Association ratings of 71 from the back tees and 69 from the front make it about 2 or 3 strokes more difficult than average. Don’t let this put you off, however. If you hit the ball straight, you’ll do well and even if you go off line here and there, the rough is very forgiving and is kept well-trimmed.

Form player:

JC Ritchie is coming into this event red hot. He comes to the Cape at the back of not one but two successful title-defences at the team championship a fortnight ago and in Limpopo just this past weekend. Those victories follow sixth-place and seventh-place finishes at the SA Open and Eye of Africa PGA Championship, respectively.

To put things into perspective, Ritchie has not missed a cut since September last year when he did so at the King’s Cup in eSwatini and has not finished outside of the top 10 since this year began. His best finish in the Cape dates back to 2018 when he finished third here and the way he is currently playing, it would not be a surprise to see him in the mix here come the weekend.

Sentimental pick:

A final-round 74 proved to be local man, Jean-Paul Strydom’s undoing last year here after he had played some brilliant golf in the week to get in contention for what would have been his first Sunshine Tour victory.

Strydom enjoys the windy Cape and while he was also runner-up last here, he also boasts a fifth-place finish in this tournament, a feat he achieved back in 2015. While he has not enjoyed a jaw-dropping season in the way of best results, his has been a decent season which included a runners-up finish, a top 15 and a top 25 result. Plus, by his own admission, he tends to play rather well in the windy conditions with which golf in Cape Town is associated.

He has everything it takes to go one better here following last year’s disappointment when Follett-Smith won last season.

Bolter:

Anton Haig has had to wait a long time for his third Sunshine Tour title, having last tasted victory on Tour back in 2007 when he claimed the Johnny Walker Classic which was co-sanctioned with the European Tour, and which is now defunct.

He has enjoyed a decent season so far, sitting 73^rd on the Order of Merit after 17 starts and last week’s seventh-place finish was yet another glimpse into the quality he possesses when he is in a good form. While he is a proven winner, with four titles to his name (Seekers Travel Pro-Am 2005, MTC Namibia PGA Championship 2006, Pulai Springs Malaysian Masters on the Asian Tour in 2006 and that playoff victory over Richard Sterne and Oliver Wilson in the Johnny Walker Classic of 2007) Haig has not enjoyed a lot of success on Tour, and this follows years of absence from the professional golf scenes. Despite all this, however, on a few occasions since he regained his Sunshine Tour playing privileges, he has shown glimpses of the player he was in the mid-2000s and that top 10 finish last week in Limpopo would have reminded him what it felt like being at the top.

A win in Cape Town would not only assure him of his own ability to win but would mark a new chapter for his career overall.

JC Ritchie created more history for himself after he successfully defended his Limpopo Championship title on Sunday, following another title-defence just a week earlier, when he claimed a two-stroke victory over Wilco Nienaber at Euphoria Golf and Lifestyle Estate.

It was something of a déjà vu for Ritchie in that last year he and his playing partner and friend, Jaco Prinsloo, first won the Gauteng Team Championship hosted by Dainfern before he claimed the inaugural Limpopo Championship, a week later. They defended successfully last week and this week, this week he defended his title to make two title-defences in two weeks.

“It’s extremely special to have defended here,” he said after his final round of 67, his second in succession. “You see, there are not many people who can say they have defended a title, so defending two titles in a row is just something that’s crazy special for me.”

To make his defence even more special is the fact that he went around the Euphoria track bogey-free on Saturday and on Sunday.

“I’ve never done that on the weekend,” he says of his blemish-free third and fourth rounds in Modimolle. “To play that kind of good golf on the weekend around here is special because it’s tough here. I watched guys make bogeys from everywhere, which they never do. So, it was ideal for my game plan. Brilliant ball-striking all week long. I have not been this in control of my game for a long time, so I am very happy.”

Despite the gallant efforts by the chasing pack which included the impressive rookie, Wilco Nienaber, the long-hitting Jacques Kruyswijk who used to call this golf club a home while he was younger and was the overnight leader and another local man, Hennie du Plessis, Ritchie showed great composure to claim his second victory in the Limpopo Championship.

A total of 19-under-par 269 earned Ritchie second Limpopo Championship in a row.

A combination of some solid golf and knowledge of the golf course helped Jacques Kruyswijk to a two-stroke lead in the Limpopo Championship following a three-under-par 69 third round, which took his total to 16-under, at Euphoria Golf and Lifestyle Estate.

Kruyswijk grew up in this region of the country and for a number of years, called Euphoria and Koro Creek Bushveld and Golf Estate, his home courses. Coming into the third round co-leading by two shots at 13-under-par, the long-hitting Kruyswijk knew he had it all to do on day three if he was to keep his spot at the top of the leaderboard.

Back-to-back pars on the first two holes settled him down and then a birdie went into his card on the third. From there, Kruyswijk made a birdie on every other hole as he turned in 32 and bogey-free. Scoring proved difficult in round three with the wind, especially on the back nine, gusting all over the place, making it tough for even the very best golfer out there to put together a decent score there.

“It was difficult out there today,” said the 28-year old Kruyswijk who plays out of Centurion Country Club. “The wind picked up quite a lot especially on the back nine. There were a couple of tough flags which made it difficult for scoring. But I just kept a cool head even on the back nine, that wasn’t y best back nine ever but the front nine covered for that.”

He made eight pars and a bogey on that homeward stretch, but he was, overall, pleased with his work up to this point of the competition.

“I’m pleased because of the work I’ve done leading up to this tournament,” he said of his recent resurgence after a disappointing season in Europe. “This is where I should be. I keep on saying this, this is where I should be every single week. I should be contending to win tournaments every week and I’m just excited to tee it up tomorrow and see what happens.”

He will have to be very sharp in the final round because the defending JC Ritchie and Louis de Jager are only two shots off the pace and any slip-ups at any stage of the round might prove costly.

Ritchie’s 67 was the best score of the day while De Jager carded a 71 to total 14-under. The final round of this championship, much like the third, will be streamed live on the Sunshine Tour Facebook and YouTube channels.

It’s an all-South African affair at the top of the leaderboard of the Limpopo Championship with Jacques Kruyswijk and Louis de Jager signing for a 64 each to total 13-under-par after the second round to co-lead by two shots going into the third round at Euphoria Golf and Lifestyle Estate.

Kruyswijk began his round beautifully, birdieing the first two holes. Two pars later, he made two more birdies to turn in 32 and bogey-free. After making four straight pars from the seventh through to the 10^th hole, Kruyswijk made his only bogey of the day, dropping a shot on the par-four 11^th.

That drop was his last because after that he steadied himself nicely, making back-to-back birdies on the 13^th and 14^th holes. He made further gains one hole later, picking up a birdie on the par-three 16^th before closing with an eagle to seal top spot ahead of the weekend.

“It was just a great day,” Kruyswijk said, “so many great feelings around this golf course. This is where I grew up. This is where it all started for me. The putter worked well but I gave myself a lot of chances. Same game plan tomorrow. I’ll go out there and play some aggressive golf because that how I play. I know Euphoria quite well so I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m where I need to be, I’m leading and that is where I want to be at.”

De Jager had a similar start to his round, making birdies on the first two holes. He had to stay patient before making further gains because his next birdie came on the sixth hole. That was followed by two more on the eighth and ninth holes. After the turn, he picked up another birdie on the 11^th and three pars later, another birdie found its way to his card. Pars on the 16^th and 17^th holes were followed by another birdie on the last hole as he went around Koro Creek without dropping a single shot.

“It was quite tough out here,” said De Jager after his round, “the wind was gusty and blowing in all kinds of directions but I putted well, so I’m really pleased going into the weekend. I’m in a perfect position for the weekend. Euphoria is a strong golf course, you’ve got to hit it well off the tee and you have to hit it straight, but I enjoy the golf course.”

Sitting third and despite dropping a shot on his first hole of the day, rookie Wilco Nienaber showed great resilience to sign for a 68 which took his total for the week to 11-under-par. A shot behind him lies Hennie du Plessis who has been in great form since recovering from a back injury a few months back. He signed for a 69 to total 10-under and coming hot behind him is the defending champion, JC Ritchie, along with overnight leader, Daniel van Tonder. They’re both nine-under-par and four shots behind the leaders.

The final two rounds of the Limpopo Championship will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube from 13H00 on Saturday and Sunday.

Daniel van Tonder says every aspect of his game was solid on day one of the Limpopo Championship, and that was evident on Thursday because he blitzed around the Koro Creek Bushveld and Golf Estate expertly, to sign for a bogey-free nine-under-par 63.

“I enjoyed it quite a lot,” he says of his round, “I played well and I listened to my caddie. We gelled and it worked today. I was pleased about every aspect of my game today; driver off the tee, second shots with the irons or a wood.  And, even on the par-threes, it’s irons off the tees and I was chipping and putting well, so everything was quite solid.”

He opened his round with an eagle and made two more birdies on the fifth and sixth holes to turn in 32. Back-to-back pars on the 1nth and 11^th were soon followed by another birdie and one hole later, on the 15^th and 16t holes, Van Tonder picked up two more birdies. He made further gains on his last two holes, closing off with two birdies to sign for a 63.

He says he’s done some work on a few aspects of his game over the last few months, and the results are beginning to show. “Putting is the name of the game,” he says.

“If you putt well, you play well and that’s what I’ve worked on.”

Rookie Wilco Nienaber, Peter Karmis, Hennie du Plessis and MJ Viljoen are in a share of second on seven-under-par and trailing by two shots after the opening round.

“I played nicely and because the front nine was so calm, I tried to take advantage of that,” said Nienaber, “and on the back nine, the wind started blowing a bit, but not much, not more than a club. I made a few adjustments with my putter, and it’s starting to pay off nicely. I enjoyed the course.

“This is my second Sunshine Tour-only event,” he notes, “the first one (Eye of Africa PGA Championship) I forgot to sign my scorecard and that got me disqualified. I’m enjoying it here and it’s nice to play on home soil.”

Defending champion JC Ritchie, Anton Haig, the German duo of Jonas Kolbing and Bernd Ritthammer, England’s Todd Clements and Philip Eriksson of Sweden share the sixth position on six-under-par.

The Limpopo Championship co-sanctioned with the European Challenge Tour returns to Euphoria Golf and Lifestyle Estate while also making its debut at Koro Creek Bushveld Golf Estate, and Sunshine Tour player Neil Schietekat says he can’t wait to get going when the tournament tees off on Thursday.

“I’ve played well here (Euphoria) and last year I think I was there and about, finished top 10, I think,” said Schietekat on Tuesday. “I like it here. I’ve done well here in the Vodacom Origins events and I’ve always played half-decently around here so I’m excited for the week.”

He came in in a share of ninth in the inaugural tournament here and he knows what aspects of one’s game should be on song in order to score well around the Euphoria layout.

“Here, you’ve got to drive it very well,” he says, “and because it’s a long golf course, you don’t really have many opportunities for birdie, so when you do get a birdie opportunity, you make those putts or you will be punished. I presume that’s what I’ve done in the past couple of years. My putter has been a bit quiet over the last couple of weeks and I’m excited to get it warmed up this week.”

The second edition of the Limpopo Championship is among the three Sunshine Tour events which are now set to be co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour and Limpopo Tourism Chief Executive Officer, Sonto Ndlovu, is just as excited as the players are for this tournament.

“It’s bigger and better,” she says. “and the partnership with the Challenge Tour is massive. Most of these players have never been to Limpopo and this is their opportunity to enjoy what we have to offer.  So, we are excited to have such a big field this year and we know that they will all enjoy our province.”

Making this event even bigger, the final two rounds will be streamed live on the Sunshine Tour Facebook page.

The Limpopo Championship made its debut on the Sunshine Tour schedule last year and it boasted a R1.5-million prize fund. The organisers promised to make the second edition bigger and better and that they have achieved.

In its second edition, the Limpopo Championship is co-sanctioned with the European Challenge Tour and boasts a R3.5-million prize fund. The much-bigger tournament will be played from 30 January to 02 February 2020, at Euphoria and Lifestyle Estate and Koro Creek in Modimolle, Limpopo.

The format:

72 holes of Stroke Play. All competitors will play one round each on the Euphoria and Koro Creek Course during round one and two. After 36 holes there will be a cut to the leading 60 professionals and those who tie on that score.

Rounds three and four will be played on the Euphoria course.

The field:

204 professionals.

Defending champion:

JC Ritchie is the defending champion. He is defending this week.

The course:

Euphoria Golf & Lifestyle Estate is set in the beautiful Waterberg mountain range.

The 18-hole championship golf course is the first in Africa to be designed by Swedish great Annika Sorenstam and provides an exclusive experience. The Estate is also distinguished by a cableway which links the clubhouse to the mountain Estate and Ntshonalanga Restaurant, perfect for watching the sunset while enjoying breath-taking views.

It is home to numerous game reserves, the area is rich in cultural, historical, natural and geological attractions. The 760-hectare nature reserve is home to a wide variety of indigenous fauna and flora. The estate is a stone’s throw from Nylsvley. Though not as large as the Okavango, it is the largest natural floodplain in South Africa and is famous for its exceptional birdlife.

The course is situated two hours away from Johannesburg and one-and-a-half hours from Pretoria.

 

Koro Creek Bushveld Golf Estate is a par-72 championship golf course, measuring 6825m and a true challenge with the fairways narrowing as you enter onto the green.

The course was designed by the DDV-Design Group with construction and maintenance done by Wonder Gardens who was also involved in the development of Leopard Creek and The Links at Fancourt. A portion of the golf course extends into the Nylsvley Nature Reserve, offering the golfers the relaxing experience of golf combined with nature.

Form Player:

The only time JC Ritchie has missed the cut this season was back in September last year in the King’s Cup in eSwatini. He’d already won the Zanaco Masters five months prior in Lusaka. Like last year coming into this tournament, Ritchie is beaming confidence as he and his friend and playing partner Jaco Prinsloo, successfully defended their Gauteng Team Championship titles over the weekend.

He was already firing on all cylinders going into last week’s event, having come seventh at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship and sixth at the SA Open hosted by the City of Joburg.

Now, headed to a familiar hunting ground and on which he has tasted success in recent times, and at the back of a successful defence, Ritchie has no reason to feel like he can’t defend his Limpopo triumph, even as the field is much bigger and the quality much improved, with the Challenge Tour joining in.

He has won three of his four order of merit titles between the months of March and April, a signal that he can be quick off the mark in the way of victories, and will want to continue with that trend. The stage is bigger and the rewards even bigger this year, however, that’s not something Ritchie isn’t used to – shown by his SA Open performance just the other day – so a successful title-defence is very possible this week.

Sentimental pick:

Jaco Ahlers has won in Euphoria before and is in a scintillating form which recently earned him a spot at the 149^th The Open later in the year. Leading the order of merit standings on account of the number of events he’s played this season – one must play a minimum of six events to be eligible to win the order of merit prize – and boasting two victories and six top 10 finishes, he knows he is in with a shout this week.

The bolter:

Stephen Ferreira has had his fair share of struggles this season, especially in the last few months. He last made the cut in October last year in the Sibaya Challenge, a reality he has worked hard to turn around. Despite those struggles, however, Ferreira remains a strong competitor and has shown glimpses of outright brilliance, as shown by his KCB Karen Masters performance, where he narrowly lost out to Toto Thimba Jnr in the end.

He is very capable of stringing together low rounds and on a day when his putter is obedient, a very low career-defining score is very possible, such as the 62 he signed for in the opening round of that showdown in Nairobi in July last year.

He has no issues confidence-wise and a solid ball-striker, Ferreira will want to combine these attributes and a few more to mount a challenge for only his maiden Sunshine Tour title. What better championship to claim your maiden title in than the Limpopo Championship?

JC Ritchie and Jaco Prinsloo made history on Saturday when they claimed the 2020 Gauteng Team Championship hosted by Dainfern, becoming the first team to defend this title since its inception in 2018.

They signed for a tournament total of 25-under-par 191 to claim a two-stroke victory over the team Jaco Ahlers and Vaughn Groenewald after rounds of 61, 68 and 62. Ritchie and Prinsloo came into the final round leading by a single stroke at 15-under-par. A bogey on the first hole marked a shaky start for the defending champions but what followed next was nothing short of spectacular.

“We are very chuffed to have defended this title,” said Ritchie, “I think we were expecting a little bit of a charge from the guys who were coming behind us. But we played brilliantly together as a team after a tough struggle at the start. But we are happy we managed to turn on the fireworks and bring it home.”

The bogey they made on the first hole was quickly forgotten as they made birdie on the next hole. Two pars later something clicked. Five consecutive birdies followed as they turned in 31 but that was not the end of it. A birdie on the 10^th was quickly followed by an eagle on the 12^th hole. Then birdies on the 17^th and the 18^th holes sealed the victory for Prinsloo and Ritchie.

“After a good stretch of holes bringing back a bad start, that eagle really settled us down, giving us a nice cushion to play the last six holes with,” continued Ritchie.

Prinsloo was equally ecstatic to become only the first team to successfully defend this title.

“The conditions today were similar to yesterday’s because we started with the umbrellas out because it was raining,” remarked Prinsloo, “it was tough but I just took a back seat and watched JC play the golf course the way it should be played. We are really happy with this win.”

The first round of this exciting tournament was a betterball format, the second round was foursomes while the final round was also a betterball.